Forest Trees of Texas: How to Know Them — John Shaqi
Forest Trees of Texas: How to Know ThemMattoon, Wilbur R. (Wilbur Reed)
Science
Forest Trees of Texas: How to Know Them
Mattoon, Wilbur R. (Wilbur Reed)
Trees -- Identification; Trees -- Texas
grows in the mountains of southwestern Texas, normally as a small tree,
or even as a sprawling shrub under adverse conditions. Its name derives
from the fact that the bark on older trees somewhat resembles alligator
hide, being broken up into square plates 1 to 2 inches across. The
leaves are about ⅛ inch long, and blue-green in color. The fruit is
berry-like, nearly round, reddish-brown, and matures in two seasons.
Seeds 3-4.
DROOPING JUNIPER (Weeping Juniper)
(Juniperus flaccida Schlect.)
occurs in this country only on the slopes of the Chisos Mountains in
Brewster County, Texas. It has graceful spreading branches with long
slender, drooping branchlets. After the leaves fall, the thin bright
cinnamon-brown bark separating into thin loose papery scales is
characteristic.
ONE-SEED JUNIPER
(Juniperus monosperma [Engelm.] Sarg.)
occurs throughout western Texas, usually as a spreading shrub or small,
much branched tree. The bark is ashy gray, ridged and shreddy. The
leaves resemble those of the alligator juniper, but are gray-green in
color, and fringed with minute teeth. The fruit is smaller, usually
copper colored or occasionally blue, usually one-seeded, and matures in
one season.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN JUNIPER
(Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.)
occurs in western Texas where it is often the largest of the junipers
found there. The bark is reddish-brown or grayish-brown, thin, fibrous,
and divided into flat, interlacing ridges. The leaves are similar to
those of the alligator juniper, but pale to dark green in color. The
fruit is nearly round, blue, and matures in two seasons. Seeds 1 to 3,
usually 2.
TEXAS PALMETTO
(Sabal texana [O. F. Cook] Becc.)
sometimes called palm, but not to be confused with the dwarf palmetto
(Sabal minor [Jacq.] Pers.) found in East Texas, reaches to heights of
30 to 50 feet and often 2 feet in diameter. It is a native of the rich
bottomlands on the Bernando River in Cameron County, Texas, but has been
widely cultivated and is found along the Gulf Coast, where the trunks
are sometimes used for wharf piles. On the lower Rio Grande the leaves
are used for the thatch of houses.
SOUTHERN BAYBERRY (Sweet Myrtle or Wax Myrtle)
(Myrica cerifera L.)
sweet myrtle is found in East Texas, usually in swamp lands. Its small
yellow-green leaves are fragrant with a balsam-like resinous odor. Light
green berries, about ⅛ inch in diameter remain on the trees during the
winter months and are coated with a thick, pale blue wax. Bay berry
candles are made from the wax.
RIO GRANDE COTTONWOOD
(Populus fremontii var. wislizenii S. Watts)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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